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MARKETING AND SALES EXECUTIVE THINK TANK

The ITAC Marketing & Sales Executive Think Tank was held on January 19, 2006 at SAP Canada.

Attending Organizations

The discussion was moderated by Bob Becker , Principal, SMA

What are methods used by technology organizations for tracking Marketing and Sales ROI?

lead tracking with provisions for "relationship building" leads
categorizing by type of lead: incremental revenue or relationship-enhancing
segmenting by accounts and compartmentalizing the marketing spend accordingly
predictive modeling in smaller, growth accounts; referring low-potential leads to low-cost channels, such as Web
in services company, measuring frequency of RFPs invitations and successful bids; measuring share of total business potential within the account

What must Marketing and Sales organizations be prepared to do?

stop doing things that aren’t driving revenue or contributing strategically
set clear parameters and expectations about lead generation before executing a campaign and analyzing results
accommodate different needs; for example, new account managers versus seasoned
differentiate ROI expectations; for example, to drive incremental revenue or to build influence
develop clear and common lexicon between Sales and Marketing of what defines a lead.
look hard at offerings, and what the competition is doing. If strategy is not working, even after persistence, redeploy. (Don’t fire good salespeople.)

What are best practices for communicating with the CEO level to gain acceptance of Marketing and Sales plans?

using a marketing and sales board, which reports to CEO quarterly and communicates objectives and ROI methods/results
understanding the sales process and talking the "right message"; most CEOs (and many Marketing execs) have some sales background
involving the CEO in the development of marketing plans and securing agreement, especially when it’s strategically important, for example, the entry into a new market; then execution becomes a natural extension of the agreed-upon plan
starting at the top with company mission, vision, objectives, strategy. Need holistic view of business – otherwise everything becomes tactical
aligning Sales and Marketing and approaching CEO as a team
bundling anecdotal feedback for CEO - when a sales rep says, "hey that really allowed us to make a breakthrough," record that
segmenting by vertical markets and pitching CEO on business case for partnering, investing dollars to attract leads, etc.
when your strategy is working, offering ideas on how to drive business in other areas
when your strategy isn’t working, be frank, readjust, give CEO a redeployment strategy